Better Late Than Never!

I am not normally a skin-of-my-teeth kinda gal, as we all know, but this November has totally gotten away from me! Way back at the beginning of the month, I was given a fabulous opportunity from Rings & Things (Yup, the jewelry supply company from Spokane, Washington) to do a design challenge using some of their new glass bezels and tiles. Apparently my big challenge this month was designing some stuff for the challenge! The first picture at left is the assortment of tiles, bezels and some bails that I received from Rings & Things to use in the challenge.

I started with the tiles, and some images that I had hanging around from ARTchix Studio, that I cut down to fit the tiles. I then sealed the images, and after letting them dry fully, I adhered them to the back of the tiles. I added the bails after the images & tiles were fully dried with a dab of 2-part epoxy resin.

The pieces that were stumping me, were the glass bezels. What, you say. Yes, I know, I've been working with bezels for at least a year now, plus resin, etc. But I was completely intimidated because, well, you can see through the glass. (I understand that that is the whole idea...) ...but I was completely stumped! What to do? Add images to the back? Just float some stuff in the in the bezel and then add resin and cal it good? Well, my super awesome pal, Krissi Sandvik (of Krissi's Art Studio), noticed that some of the glass tiles fit on top of the glass bezels! MAKE A BOX? Why not! Still, I was trying to decide how to deal with my "fear" of the clear. I jumped in with both feet and put a couple of metal leaf charms (I cut off the loops) into the bezel and then epoxied the "lid" to the bezel to create the box, then waited for the epoxy to dry. While I waited, I tried to decide what I wanted to do with all that clear space. I decided to add gold foil to the outside of the box, adding to the overall Autumn feel to the piece. Once the epoxy

was dry, I sanded very lightly around the edge of the box and then cleaned the outside of the box with a little bit of rubbing alcohol, after which I added leafing adhesive to the bottom of the box. After the adhesive had dried to "tacky" I took random colored flakes of gold foil and tapped them onto the piece and allowed the adhesive to dry fully. I brushed off the excess foil and then added the adhesive to the sides and repeated the process. I intentionally scraped off a few spots of the foil to "age" the appearance of the piece and add a little light to peek through. I added a bail to the piece with 2-part epoxy. I am very happy with how the piece turned out and look forward to working with the glass bezels again.

I was given the tiles and bezels for use in this design challenge, but have not been compensated by Rings & Things in any other way. I also have not been compensated for the use of the images by ARTchix Studio, the images were purchased for my own personal use.

Upcoming sale dates and other important info.

Upcoming sale dates and other important info...Yup! It's that time again. The Holidays.

This year for your holiday shopping pleasure I have bunches of stuff for you. New shops to check out and steals and deals for one and all. First off, I have been included in a grat DIY group; Glitter-Bitches Handmade! You can also find and fan them on Facebook and really should, that's where you'll here about specials, promotions and any other cool happenings with the group.

Okay, know we're ready to get our shop on, right? Stay away from the insanity of the malls and big box stores and shop online, and more importantly, HANDMADE!

Juli's Jewels (Yup, that's me!) - Black Friday through Cyber-Monday; Free shipping on all orders over $50 in my Artfire shop (use coupon code freeshipblkfriday), plus a free pair of holiday earrings or a snowflake pin free with any order. Plus, for my Facebook fans, there will be a special something posted on my page, just for you! (Also, I will be vending several of the upcoming Saturdays, including December's 2nd Saturday, at the Midtown Bazaar. You can also find the Bazaar on Facebook)

Krissi's Art Studio - Krissi is the creator of Skelekitty! In her shop you will find original artwork, prints and even some select pieces of jewelry (lots, featuring her artwork) Krissi is now offering Gift Certificates and she has some great coupons for her Artfire shop! Don't forget to fan her on Facebook.

Save 10% on purchases over $10 by entering coupon code SAVE10OVER10 when you check out

Save 15% on purchases of $25 or more with coupon code SAVE15OVER25

Save 20% on $40 or more with coupon code SAVE20OVER40

Save 25% on $75 or more with coupon code SAVE25OVER75

Save 30% on $100 or more with coupon code SAVE30OVER100

Brooke Van Gory Designs - Brooke creates fabulous custom bags! Diaper bags, camera bags & handbags too! Brooke is offering 1/2 off any wetbag or changing pad with any diaper bag purchase, and free shipping!

Sweets N Stuff - Cherry creates "1 of a kind altered items and accesories". To truly get what that means, go check out her shop. Holiday Sale from 11/23 - 11/30: FREE Shipping and 10% off of all orders under $25, 15% off of purchases $25-$50 and 25% off all orders $50+(Including Gift Certificates)

Madd Style Cosmetics - Mo creates wonderful lipglosses, lip bombs, perfumes and her wicked eye paints (loose pigment eyeshadows) are to die for! She has also just recently opened a shop on Artfire (it's not replacing her Etsy shop) Black Friday Sales Are:♥ FREE SHIPPING on ALL orders ANYWHERE on Black Friday (11/26) THRU Cyber Monday (11/29)!! ♥ FREE MYSTERY PIGMENT (brand *new* never seen before!!) Given with ALL orders made on BLACK FRIDAY and CYBER MONDAY!♥ ANY 6 piggies for ONLY $20 from Fri thru Mon!!

Wenchkin - The Art of Wenchcraft - You will find Wenchkin and her fabulous Bonies on Facebook! Fan her page to find out what awesomeness she will offering up at 15% off plus free shipping!

Ant Farm Studio - Home of The Ant Farm Gang and Loco Folko folk art - Kim is also only on Facebook! Fan her page to find out what's new and check out her 1/2 price Sugar Skulls (included in the price - FREE SHIPPING)!

Kisszombies DIY - ArJay is responsible for some"morbid and cute" accesories and hand screened t-shirts! She will be offering 20% off (use coupon code TURKEY20), and there will be a free surprise with each order and free giftwrap (by request).

Muddslinger Ceramics and Crafts - Brandy makes fun and occasionally mature accesories plus has some of her handthrow pottery available. She is also available on Artfire. Her deals are; 10%-15% off on specific items in both Etsy and Artfire shops; $3 5x7 Prints, $8 8x10 Prints, Facebook fan page special (Fan her page and find out what it is); Full Site Artfire 15% discount starting sometime between tomorrow and Friday; Also if you've received a coupon, you can use the 20% code)

Scarlette Wrists - Christina has an Etsy shop where "she shares the joys of embracing the darker side of life while still looking gorgeous." Check out her shop and her Facebook fan page for upcoming Black Friday deals like - Earrings are 1/2 off (were $10, now $5) and Chokers are $2 off (were $8, now $6)

Trying New Things!

In an effort to do a better job of blogging, I’m going to try some new things. I am going to do book and DVD reviews and I think I’ll even try my hand at the occasional interview! My new goal is one blog post per week…wish me luck.

Okay, so this week I am going to review a DVD I just purchased recently – Exploring Resin Jewelry Making with Susan Lenart Kazmer which I purchased from Objects and Elements for $29.99.

As many of you already know, I have been using resin in my work for a couple of years now, but only in the most basic way (i.e. put a picture and/or a small item in some type of bezel or bottle cap and then pour in the resin…) occasionally being very brave and layering in a few watch bits or a dimensional, but not to much of that.

Recently, I have seen resin in open backed bezels and also doing resined paper over wire framework to make charms and pendants. I have really wanted to try some of these things but felt intimidated. Those of you who know me know that normally I would just jump in with both feet and sink or swim, but resin is very messy and can go really wrong if you aren’t a little bit careful.

So I’ve been pining away for months…until just this last month when I happened across the DVD while looking at open backed bezels (longingly) at the Objects and Elements shop. Definitely a woohoo moment! The description of the DVD from the website was, “Susan Lenart Kazmer has done it again! This great video explores ways to incorporate resin into your work. She shows it all from how to use the resin right through molding and casting. It's like taking her class with a rewind button.” I bought it right then and there (along with a texture hammer and some enameled rings and cones) and waited. Three days later it was on my doorstep. The fun part was it arrived on a day when I was heading up to hang out with my friend and fellow artist/crafter, Krissi (a.k.a. Skelekitty), so I took it along for a viewing (she has been thinking about playing with Ice Resin). There was a lot that I already knew covered in the DVD, which I expected, but there was a bunch of common sense stuff that just had me whacking myself in the forehead. Simple things like putting your domed bezel on a piece of duct tape to keep it steady (Insert forehead slap here!). I would have jerry-rigged some elaborate setup (and still probably would have tipped over my dome…), and measuring but not mixing your resin until you are ready to use it (brilliant!), double sided tape for your images (because if you glue them down you have to wait the extra time for the glue to dry & if you don’t use anything your image will float up), and using transparencies with resin.

All I can say is this DVD, Exploring Resin Jewelry Making with Susan Lenart Zazmer, is a must for anyone who wants to do resin really well. With her common sense approach, you will wonder why you didn’t think of these simple yet awesome techniques yourself.

Custom Work

Original Vintage Necklace

I admit it, I like to do custom work...alot! I like making jewelry very specifically for people per their requests because it is often a different kind of challenge. I have an album on my facebook fan page devoted to custom pieces (you can find it here). They are all varied in type and style. I love it when someone feels confident in my ability to create what they are looking for.

A few months back, my pal Krissi (check her out at Krissi's Art Sudio) asked me to recreate a vintage necklace that she loved with one in the same style but with different colors. The original is in a dark/antique brass with dark red beads, the recreation in sterling silver and black. THE HUNT WAS ON!



My custom piece

 First, black beads. The original red beads were smooth, round and transparent. You can't have true black and transparent. So how do you get them to be shiny? Get a faceted bead! I could also find nothing like the original "fringed" bead cap, so I went with the same shape, only with kind of filigree style instead. I stayed true to the style, but added a little flair with this choice of bead cap. Ironically, the hardest part was finding a chain I liked, that would fit the style without making it to heavy...I think I forgot to mention, this style of necklace can be a little hefty with so many glass beads.

I think I did a pretty fair job of staying within the style of the original while giving it a little bit of an updated flair.

What do you think?

Hot Diggity Blog!

Just a quicky...I found out that Rings & Things (one of my most favorite jewelry findings suppliers) has changed their Blog Partners program. I won't go into the details of the change, but suffice it to say I get to be a blog partner know. WooHoo!

So, what happens now is I wait and cross my fingers. All of the blog partner names will go into a "hat" and ten will be drawn randomly to receive the Rings & Things goodie bags. If you are one of the lucky ones, you will get a bunch of jewelry making bits which you then take pictures of, make fabulous stuff with and then take more pictures of an ulitmately you BLOG about. According to the law I will have to fully disclose any and all compensation I receive from Rings & Things as a blog partner, but no problem there.

So anyway, I am very excited about the opportunity and I hope I get a goodie bag soon!

Woohoo

I have just received the highly coveted Skelekitty Seal of Approval for my jewelry designs. Have you seen the new collaberation pieces featuring Krissi's Art Studio/Skelekitty designs. (These designs are copywritted by Krissi's Art Studio and all images are used with permission. Always get permission from the artist BEFORE using their images/designs in your artwork even for personal use.) They are available in my ArtFire shop, come check them out.

Updates

This past month has been very busy over at the Juli's Jewels worldwide headquarters! I have been working on updating and or correcting my prices, getting better photos and descriptions in the ArtFire shop, doing a 2nd Saturday art show at Vox in Sacramento, preparing for 3rd Saturday at the Downtown Plaza (new location this month, 4th & K Streets), and starting to pull stuff together for my crafting cruise, while still making sure to spend quality time with my fur boys and my friends...whew!

This is a picture of my newest piece "Steampunk Style". The necklace is 20" long and features a hammered flat skelton key, tumbled citrine nuggets (wire wrapped for security) and an ornate chain (looks kinda like a silhouette of a peanut) and finished with a lobsterclaw clasp. The pendant has hand rivited gear elements (including one from old watch bits). It is available currently in my ArtFire shop for $38.00 (plus tax if you live in California).

This month's 3rd Saturday is on March 20th from noon to 5pm again at the Downtown Plaza in Sacramento. This month the location has moved from the L Street Shops location (approximately 5th & L streets) to 4th & K, which is the end by the movie theaters, Women's Macy's, Forever 21, the food court, etc. Stop by and sat hello.

I am not sure if I will be partcipating in the April 3rd Saturday yet, as it is the saturay after I get back from my fabulous trip/vacation. I will be attending the Crafty Chica Art Cruise next month and am very excited, as there will be much glitter! I will let you know though, about 3rd Saturday.

On a non-jewelry note...4 of my collages are currently hanging at Vox (in the Urban Hive at 19th & H) until April 5th. Woohoo! Stop by and check them out. Oh, and if you are interested, they are for sale.

So, until next time...cheers!

What I've been working on lately...

I've been trying out the new copper clay from the makers of Art Clay Silver. It doesn't require a firing vessel or carbon medium to fire. It also fires in a significantly shorter amount of time.

My pal, Krissi Sandvik (creator of Skelekitty) has created some art stamps from her original artwork. For fun, I thought I would try them out with the new copper clay. NOTE: the stamps are copywritted and used with permission. Always get permission before using copywritted stuff in your art/craft-even for personal use!

I have done a step-by-step on metal clay before so I will skip it this time and show you some simple ways to make the design POP. The yarn ball didn't impress as well as I would have liked, so I wanted to do something to bring it out a bit. I swabbed some alcohol ink on the yarn ball portion of the design let it dry thoroughly (about 30 seconds) and then buffed the pendant with a polishing cloth. The ink on the top of the piece buffed off, but the ink in the recesses remained.

From there, I added white acrylic paint over the skelekitten portion of the pendant and let dry to tacky, but not completely dry (hard to get off when totally dry), then buffed again.

The paint highlights the bones on the skelekitten. Tomorrow, when everything is completely dry and set I will spray the pendant with a light coat of acrylic sealant, to protect the colors on the pendant.

Just a quick note...

Just a quick note, Juli's Jewels blog has had a little down time. I moved recently, and, well we all know what that's like! My new DSL service should be up and running before the end of the week and then I will show you what I've been doing.

(hint: I've been playing with the new copper clay made by the Art Clay people and some of Skelekitty's fabulous stamps.)

Little Box Pendant.

So today I am trying something different. I saw an article in the newest issue (Winter '10) of Belle Armoire Jewelry that intrigued me. It was "Vintage Lace Assemblages" by Sheri Replogle. So the style of the pieces that she made were totally not my style, but I liked the little box she made to create her assemblages in. She made a little box out of sheet copper and then soldered over it. Okay, so I thought I would give it a try. That is when I realized I lost my magazine...since when has not having the directions to something stopped me. So here we go...

Warning: you must have soldering skills to create this project.

What you need -

Sheet copper

Flux (and flux brush)

Pewter solder

Jump ring(s)

Ruler

Something to cut the sheet copper (I used jewelers metal shears, but you could use a saw instead)

Copper foil tape

Soldering iron (with stand and a really wet sponge)

Soldering tile (the hot metal you are working on sits on this)

Locking hemostats or tweezers or something to hold the hot metal that isn't your bare fingers (no burns please)

A bench block and chasing hammer to flatten the jump ring a little

Okay, ready? Plug in your soldering iron, so that it will be hot when you are ready for it.

Carefully take the copper sheet out of it's package (you might want to wear gloves for this, as the metal edges can be very sharp).

Take the ruler and mark out the size you want the box to be plus 1/2 an inch for box sides. Carefully cut out the overall square for the box. Cut a notch 1/4 inch from each edge on the top and bottom of the square.

Score along the 1/4 inch lines on all four sides of the square and gently (with flat nose pliers if you have them) bend up the two short sides of the square. Then, bend up the long sides and wrap the long ends around the short sides.



Take the copper foil tape and wrap it over the edges of the box, including the overlapping pieces (this will help seal it). Burnish the tape down (I used a bone folder for this, but you can even use just your finger nails).



Turn your box upside down and place it on you soldering tile. Use your flux brush and liberally brush flux all over the back of your box. The flux cleans the metal and helps the solder flow.

Now for the fun part, soldering! Holding the soldering iron in your dominant hand and the solder in the other hand, melt some solder off the roll and onto your box. Start with a tinning layer (you know how to solder, so you know what this means) all around the box on the outside, and then flip the box over and do the same on the inside. Okay, so you can flip the box back over and build up the solder to the level that you prefer now. I like mine a little on the thick side.

When you have the solder on the box to your liking, get the jump ring settled into the locking hemostats (or hold it with the tweezers, if that's what you have) and brush it with flux. Brush the box with a bit more flux where you want to place the jump ring. Hold the jump ring in place and add a bit of solder to the tip of your soldering iron and flow it over the jump ring, securing it to the back of the box.

Clean the finished box with a damp cloth.

Voila! You can put anything you want into your new little box. I will probably make a little collage in mine an then seal it with resin. I'll let you know.